No Place for a Woman
by QueenOfTheStorms
Summary: While journeying to retrieve the Book of Peace, a run in with another ship leaves Sinbad with a face from the past whom he hasn't seen in years, Proteus' younger sister Serenity.
1. An Unexpected Encounter

**This is my first fic so let me know what you think :)**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to Dreamworks. I own nothing except the OC.**

* * *

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Encounter.

The seas were calm; a sight which one so used to sailing stormy waves should capture firmly in his mind to keep forever. The late afternoon sun poured down its warmth onto the one lone ship sailing through the endless ripples of the ocean. It wasn't a very big ship; but big enough for a Captain and his crew to maintain a comfortable living on.

But for Sinbad and his crew, this moment in time was no comfortable status. They were three days into their ten day time limit on a task that Sinbad had had no plans to commit to. His original plan had been to steal the Book of Peace for himself and his crew; the priceless treasure which had been recently residing in Syracuse now rested in the hands of Eris; the Goddess of Discord and was now a far harder and dangerous place to retrieve it back from and return it back to Syracuse.

Sinbad rubbed his face with one rough hand. If it were up to him, the mission would immediately be aborted. He was a pirate ... and a thief, true; but travelling to Tartarus of all places and taking from a goddess of all things was a little out of even his comfort zone.

'Proteus, you bastard ... why did you hang your neck on the line' Sinbad thought stubbornly. Proteus, his childhood best friend was the entire reason he hadn't killed off the mission. The prince of Syracuse was currently in Sinbad's place to be executed unless Sinbad returned before the sunset of the tenth day with the book.

Sinbad huffed loudly. The past three days had been no stroll around the ship; the sail through the Dragons teeth had only made a successful escape because of the ships stowaway Marina, who wasn't ruptured by the luring sirens, and the stop on the island to get tree sap for a new coating on the ships damaged wood result to a close escape from the 'island' which turned out to be a very well camouflaged giant fish.

Sinbad huffed again, part of him knew some of this was Eris' doing. He knew she was probably watching him make his way to her realm and was thinking of sending yet another obstacle to slow him on the journey.

"Captain!"

Sinbad glanced up at his first mate Kale "What's going on?"

"Captain, we have company"

Sinbad jumped to the main deck from the steering wheel and looked over at the oncoming ship towards them. It didn't look much different in comparison to his own ship. Small yet intimidating, possibly capable of harm. Sinbad hoped it didn't plan to intrude; time wasn't exactly a friend of his at the moment.

"Do you think they're harmful?" Kale asked.

"Won't be anything we can't take on" Sinbad said easily.

"Don't you think we should-?"

Kales words were cut short as an arrow flew narrowly passed him into the mast.

"Arm yourselves!" Sinbad yelled out to his crew; finishing and answering Kales question at the same time.

The bandits of the other ship had swung across with swords drawn and daggers raised. Their Captain; a tall muscly man with a short messy beard walked lousily over to Sinbad; his sword swung lazily over his shoulder.

"We don't want any trouble" Sinbad said cautiously. On any other day he would have pounced on the opportunity to take this misfit down, but he had bigger fish to catch right now. "Whatever you're after we don't have it"

The Captain laughed as though Sinbad had told a very lame joke "On the contrary" he said "we're not seeking goods, in fact we're doin' the complete opposite. We're lookin' at gifting you with a good." He hid away a snigger that wasn't gone unnoticed by Sinbad "If a good is what you wanna call it."

Sinbad groaned "I don't have time for this" He said irritably "Unless that so called gift you have is the Book of Peace, I am not interested."

The Captain ignored Sinbad, sheathing his sword, unfazed even by the mere size of Kale who could easily scare the entire room by just walking through the door in Syracuse much less by the swords he whipped out from the sheaths at his back. "It's nothin' fancy I'll admit; just a bit of unwanted cargo."

Without waiting for Sinbad's upcoming protest he gestured to a couple of men behind him who walked – with slight difficulty - to his side; half dragging another figure behind them. The figure had a sack covering their head and was bound tightly at the wrists, writhing with all their might to come free of their strong bounds. The men – who were easily no match for the prisoner - threw the young soul at Sinbad's feet.

Sinbad looked at the angrily defeated being before him and huffed "Look, we have enough on our hands right now without more unwanted meat to worry about." (Marina hadn't exactly been part of his bargain either; she was one extra, he didn't need another.)

The figure at his feet gasped at his voice but spoke nothing, their masked face pointed solidly at the wooden deck of the ship. The captain – who was only a little less muscular than Kale (possibly why he was so unfazed by him) – just shrugged.

"Well we ain't carryin' on with tha' with us" He said simply. Sinbad came to an assumption by the way he talked about the figure that either they had caused a lot of trouble or were incredibly mistreated. He sighed "What makes you think that _we_ want him then?"

"You're a pirate aren't ya?" The Captain inquired as though the answer was obvious, "you should know 'ow this works; like a game o' tag" He leaned forward and shoved the prisoner forward so they lost their balance on their knees and hit Sinbad's knees hard. He smiled harshly showing a maximum of only four teeth "You're it."

As much as Sinbad wanted to argue with this dickhead, time was ticking and he knew he couldn't waste any more time with this "Okay fine, if it gets you lot off of our tails and on our way, I'll take him."

The Captain nodded "Wise choice sailor, besides" he said catching the rope from his ship in one strong fist to swing back which his bandits had already done, completely unseen by Sinbad "It may come of some use to ya later on, who knows."

Before Sinbad could say anything the opposing ship was already sailing off with one less person to worry about; the captain at the wheel and not looking back.

Kale walked up beside Sinbad "Now what?"

Sinbad cast his eyes downward at the slumped new crew member on the ground in front of him."We continue on" He said indirectly to Kale "we've lost so much unnecessary time now, let's just get moving"

Kale crossed his arms "And what about him?" he asked, nodding towards their new piece of cargo who, since the ships parted separate ways, had refused to move or speak.

Sinbad furrowed his brow and turned away "Do with him what you will" He said, clearly not caring about what happened to him "I've got other things to worry about."

He pushed passed Kale and headed back to the wheel, knowing Kale wouldn't move the figure until he had exact orders on what to do with him "Take him down under the deck, wash him up, tomorrow I'll -"

"SINBAD!"

Sinbad turned and ducked, very narrowly avoiding the figures tied hands from hitting his head. "Hey…"

Immediately the figure was restrained in the Kales muscular arm and Sinbad had his sword at the ready. "Sorry Captain" Kale held the victim firm with near no effort "He moved before I could stop him."

Sinbad glared at the figure who hissed at him. They could clearly see through the sack around their head. He made a face of disgust "I should just kill you now and be done with you" He growled.

"Go ahead!"

Sinbad nearly dropped the sword in surprise. The figure had spoken ... and was no male. His surprise quickly turned to irritation 'Great' he thought 'first Marina now this one ... two females ... bloody perfect.'

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Well, you would know if you uncovered me, wouldn't you Sinbad?" Something about her voice was nagging at Sinbad's brain, as though he'd heard it before. he narrowed his eyes, unable to ignore his curiosity at this turn of events. Without looking away from the unexposed woman he addressed Kale "Remove the sack."

Kale wrapped his hand (not the one restraining her) around the top of the sack and with a final nod from Sinbad, pulled it off.

The sword _was_ dropped then, along with Sinbad's jaw as the removal of the sack exposed the girl's identity. He was seeing things surely. It couldn't possibly be.

"You? … No … it can't be ..."

It was. Though it had been well over ten years, he immediately recognized the raven-haired beauty with the emerald eyes that use stray him away long ago. He could still hear a fifteen year old Proteus' playful disgusted voice _"I cannot believe you. Of all people Sinbad, really? My little sister?!"_

Serenity growled and elbowed herself out of Kale's grip which had slackened at Sinbad's change of emotion.

"Been a while … I know."


	2. Blast From the Past

" **Been a while … I know"**

A while?

It was an understatement to say the least. Sinbad was only just aware that he must have looked like the biggest idiot at that moment with his mouth hanging open and his sword lying; slipped carelessly from his slackened grasp a few inches away from his feet. But he was finding it hard to maintain posture; seeing Proteus again had been one surprise and in his shock at seeing him, he hadn't given a second thought about his sister.

Serenity shook herself furiously out of the cloak which had been draped over her shoulders and Sinbad's eyes widened. She was wearing some kind of Celtic armour. Leather straps held fast over her shoulders complete with the arm straps, pushed further up than normal because of the tight bounds. The boots she was wearing laced up to the knee. Sinbad could only guess where she may have got all that from (Though he vaguely remembered a couple of them scattered around on people in one of the many places they went to some years back – they had been very tempting to steal.)

The girl had changed a bit physically in the years gone by. Her hair was a lot longer and she had gone through the normal stage of turning from a girl into a young woman but she was still the Princess he'd left behind in Syracuse – okay maybe not. A Princess of Syracuse would not dress like that …

'Oh for goodness sake 'a small voice in his head piped up laughing 'nothing about her now would make anyone think she was royalty.' Though judging by the way she had behaved in their childhood, Sinbad would not have been surprised if that was precisely what she wanted.

How old must she be now? Early twenties probably; she had been only thirteen when he'd seen her last.

Serenity meanwhile softened her glare somewhat and gave him a slight annoyed expression "You done gawking at me like a goddam fish?"

Those words made the pirate come to his senses. Shutting his mouth up tight and picking up his sword in one clean move he took a step towards her "Don't push me. Just because I know who you are doesn't mean I won't drive you through right here right now" He said through gritted teeth, twirling the sword around in his hand.

Serenity fought the urge to roll her eyes; seeing right through the bluff. "Uhuh" She said sarcastically.

Sinbad knew she'd see through it; still it had been worth a try, worth seeing if she had grown out of that little gift of hers that she loved using as a child on him and Proteus.

Shaking his head he sheathed the sword and crossed his arms "Care to tell us how you came into this situation?" He asked gesturing to her tightly bound wrists.

Serenity turned back to her original glare "I don't have to tell you anything."

Sinbad narrowed his eyes "Yes you do. I may not run a sword through you but I will knock your lights out easily."

Serenity shook her head with a loud laugh "Of course because knocking me out will definitely give you the answers."

'God damn this girl' Sinbad thought crossly. He tried not to look as though she'd stumped him for the second time in two minutes. "Look just answer the damn question, why did they tie you up?"

Silence greeted the second attempt as Serenity turned her glare to the floor; refusing to meet his eyes. For a moment Sinbad thought she may have been ignoring him – a common thing she used to do to both him and her brother when she was in a stubborn mood – but the more he watched her eyes dart furiously from one foot to the other, the more he came to the conclusion that actually, she didn't want to confess what she'd done. He cleared his throat and hardened the tone "Why did they tie you up?"

Serenity rolled her eyes "Those damn misfits thought I was nicking food" She half mumbled "One of those bastards had told me to go down and do a count up of all those disgusting eggs. The captain caught me just as I grabbed the first one … you get the picture."

"Uhuh"

The look matched the mocking she received from the captain and those two features alone were enough to tell her he hadn't bought a single word. As clever and as stubborn as Serenity had been in the past, one of the few things she had never been the best at was lying – she'd been one of the worst actually. Sinbad waited, one eyebrow raised, tapping his foot impatiently on the deck until at last the girl gave in "ugh fine, I was a little hungry, but come on, I didn't think eating one flipping pickle would cause such an uproar."¬

Truthfully Sinbad wouldn't have thought that either, knowing full well he probably would've done the exact same thing, but after having just that brief encounter with the big hunk of muscle who was the captain of that ship, Sinbad wasn't sure even he would've taken that chance with that man. He wasn't sure whether to consider Serenity brave or stupid.

"How long had you been on that ship anyway?" Sinbad questioned further.

Serenity huffed "oh what's it to you?" She sneered "If you'd had it your way I'd still be on it."

Sinbad couldn't deny that fact "We're not exactly on time's side at the moment." He said hurriedly. "If taking you got us moving then I'm happy, and look at that, we're moving so ta-daa, happy." His voice sounded anything but happy.

"As far as I remember you were never on anyone's side; especially not my father's."

Sinbad shrugged "I didn't exactly mind" he said lazily.

"Proteus did! Maybe you might have if you'd stuck around."

Sinbad's frustration started growing "You can talk" he growled "I don't see you prancing around Syracuses ivory tower. In fact it doesn't look like you've touched foot in Syracuse in years."

Serenity's anger remained high in the atmosphere but not before Sinbad caught another emotion flickering for a split second in her eyes … pain? But it was gone in the quickest of blinks.

"I still stand by what I said" Serenity half spat.

But Sinbad had had enough "Yeah well truth be told I'm not exactly his top favourite now either but your brother's neck is literally on the line and him along with daddy dearest are relying on me to save it!"

Sinbad hadn't meant to say that much so soon or so quickly … or so loudly. But now that it was said he couldn't help enjoying Serenity's expression morph from a mix of a glare and frustration to a mix of shock and horror. He gathered that hadn't been what she was expecting to hear.

"Proteus … he … what?"

Sinbad sighed "Listen it's a bit of a long story that I don't have ti-"

"MAKE TIME!"

Sinbad nearly fell backwards at the unexpected outburst from the princess. He bit on his tongue to keep from yelling back.

Serenity's cold glare seared into his own eyes "What do you mean my brother's neck is literally on the line?" She hissed.

"Uhh…" Sinbad wasn't sure how much he should say; or rather, how much he could say that would make a short summary make enough sense. He thought quickly though as the glare Serenity was giving the captain had hardened enough to a point that he was sure her eyes were going to turn into lasers.

"Basically, your father had me on the line to get the chop for stealing something I didn't steal, Proteus stuck his neck on the line instead and we have ten days to get the stolen thing back to Syracuse before his head gets dispatched." Sinbad didn't quite get his tongue around all the words properly in his hast to get it all out but seeing that Serenity finally blinked and took a breath, she understood the concept.

"This stolen thing …" she said slowly "Is that the so called "Book of Peace" I overheard you saying to the captain?"

"Correct and I'm just going ask you not to ask about that." Whatever look Sinbad had on his face must have been enough for Serenity to drop the subject.

"Sinbad! The sky!" The voice came from his fellow crew member Rat.

Sinbad turned his attention away from Serenity and realized with horror that it was almost dark. He turned sharply to Kale who had been standing there silently the whole time – along with the rest of the crew – observing the two of them. Sinbad growled "Get us back on course, now!"

The crew scattered to their posts. Kale disappeared towards the wheel and Sinbad started off in the other direction.

"Where exactly are you headed? Where is this Book of Peace' Serenity asked following him.

"Tartarus" Sinbad answered without looking back, knowing full well that was going to make her think he'd gone mad, just like everyone else in Syracuse and even some of the crew members thought, but he wasn't in a mood to particularly care.

Surprisingly though, instead of his predicted bewilderment befalling the girl, Serenity stopped and took a tiny step back with a quick intake of breath "Tartarus?" She repeated as if checking to see if she heard correctly.

"Yup, the lovely, completely non-intimidating Realm of Chaos" Sinbad said with fake excitement to match his grin, raising his hands as if celebrating.

"Oh… so … so Eris took the book?"

Sinbad stopped in his tracks and looked at her – as if making sure it was her that had said those words "You know about Eris?"

Serenity nodded "I haven't forgotten everything about my education in Syracuse … however short that was."

"And … you believe in stuff like that?"

Serenity closed her mouth and Sinbad could've sworn he saw a new emotion flicker for a split second in her eyes … was that fear?

Before he could investigate further however Kale's voice sounded from the wheel "Sinbad?"

Sinbad turned in the direction of his first mate and saw him make a very subtle gesture towards Serenity. Sinbad turned back around and saw exactly what Kale was referring to.

Sinbad drew his sword and raised it; much to the princess' alarm and sighed, "Sorry Serenity, but your just not much use …"

The sword came singing down hard – cutting the rope around her wrists clean off "… being tied up like that" he finished.

Shock turned into a mix of relief and surprise on Serenity's face as she tenderly brushed her fingers across the fat, blotchy, purple rings around her wrists, wincing as she did so; not doubting some of that would eventually settle into a permanent scar.

"Geez" Sinbad said as he winced himself at the ugly sight "They didn't play fair did they?"

"Believe me when I say, you really have no idea" Serenity answered, half shuddering at unknown memories.

Sinbad rubbed his face "Our journey to Tartarus hasn't been the easiest or the safest and I doubt it will get any easier the closer we get. You weren't part of the bargain but I won't decline another pair of hands, so welcome to the crew."

"So I'm not a prisoner on this ship?" Serenity asked.

"No, for three reasons" Sinbad answered "One, I doubt your wrists could handle another rope tied around them. Two, look around princess, my men are strong and know how to fight. They will take you down if you try any tomfoolery. Three, we're on a ship, there's only so many places you can go."

Sinbad turned back around "the sleeping quarters are down below and we take turns every four hours on night watch. Get some rest."

Serenity was a little confused "Why do you trust me?"

Sinbad laughed "I didn't say I trusted you, just said that you weren't a prisoner. Now I say it again, get some rest."

Truthfully Serenity didn't look as though she could sleep but nevertheless she dropped conversation and retreated to where her cloak lay discarded on the deck, wrapping it back around her shoulders.

"And Serenity …"

Midway back across the deck, the princess stopped. Sinbad smirked, "Don't steal too many pickles."

With an exasperated huff, the princess disappeared from sight down below, reminding Sinbad a little of Marina when she got frustrated with him after the sail through the Dragons Teeth – part of him still refused to accept that she had saved them all. He walked over to the bow of the ship and rested his elbows on the railing, placing his chin on his knuckles; hoping that allowing Serenity pretty much to waltz around the ship like she had always been part part of the crew from day one wasn't a stupid idea on his behalf.

"So ... that's Proteus' sister ..."

Sinbad turned to see the fiancé of Proteus herself walking over to him. He gave her a confused look, "Yes … you knew that"

"um, no" Marina answered, coming up beside him "I didn't … I've never seen her before."

 _She must have left immediately after I did,_ Sinbad thought incredulously, raising his eyebrows towards the sea. S _he hid that part well_.

"Proteus has never mentioned her" Marina said lightly.

"What?" Sinbad looked at her dumbfounded "He must have, there's no way he could not have mentioned her."

Marina thought for a moment then shook her head, "Not to me he hasn't. In fact that's the first time I've ever heard of Proteus having a sibling."

Sinbad was lost for words as his head now burned with questions and confusion as he turned back away from Marina and watched the star on the horizon blazing in front of the ship.

What the hell?

Now there was a obvious piece to the puzzle he was missing about the Princess of Syracuse ... and one way or another he was going to find it.


	3. Painful Reflections

**Apologies to my readers for taking a while to update this *Ahem ... just over a year!* My other story on here** **took top priority for a while. I promise I will try to update it more regularly. I will finish it I promise! ^-^**

* * *

Rest? Get some rest?

Serenity was surprised she even knew the definition of the word. She didn't have the slightest idea of what to think, the last hour had been the most shocking hour she'd ever had in her life. She roughly pulled her hair out of her face as she slid down to the floor with her back up against one of the wooden poles; then winced from the action and started tentatively touching away at her blotchy purple wrists. Those ropes had not been kind on her skin. They hurt like buggery and no doubt the throbbing wouldn't stop for at least a few weeks, but truth be told, they were the last possible thing on the girl's mind.

Where in the name of the Gods had **he** come from? She didn't think it even remotely possible that she would ever see Sinbad again. The last time she'd seen him had been the day in Syracuse when she spotted him sneak on board one of the cargo ships bound for one of the many distant lands. It had been the last time she, Proteus or anyone in Syracuse had seen him.

Proteus…

Not for the first time that day did her gut churn as her mind went out to her older brother. It had been a lifetime since she had seen him, and as she had feared for the longest of whiles, it was only going to get longer still. Yet, she couldn't force herself to drown the glimmer of hope that finding Sinbad - as unexpected and as shocking as the reunion had been - she may get her chance to see Proteus again, even if ...

 _Stop it!_ Forcing Proteus out of her mind, Serenity glanced around her new humble abode. It wasn't exactly anything new to what she had seen on other ships in the past. A row of hammocks strung across the room for sleeping, scattered barrels, the scent of musk, rum and sweat laced the room which was bathed in warm light from a few glowing lanterns. All was completely normal to her …

Except the pair of yellow eyes that opened up out of nowhere on the other side of the room.

Serenity froze; her back pressed hard against the wall as the eyes drew closer out of the dark, belonging to a rather large, bulky looking thing. The princess moved a hand slowly to rest just above her leg, ready to extract the dagger that she had strapped underneath her left boot, hidden from sight and attack whatever was coming towards her from the dark. She still couldn't properly see what it was, but, judging by the panting and the way the eyes were glowing, she knew it was nothing good.

Just as she had a firm grip on the dagger, the creature finally came into view, and she gasped. The creature that came out wasn't what she expected … or what she wanted either. It was a dog. A large, drooling English Mastiff, and 'drooling' was quite an understatement, saliva slopped everywhere with even the slightest move the dog made, which it was flying in all places as the dog had gone from a walk straight to a bound – with Serenity as his target.

The dagger was out in the blink of an eye, and Serenity didn't hesitate to point it straight ahead of her into the path in which the dog was rapidly headed. She was not falling victim of this again. Ever since Tucker; a large, sharp-fanged mutt who had only one motto: 'No friend of the Captain was a friend of his'. Serenity just happened to be at the bottom of the food chain for the Captain, and her souvenir from that had been …

No! Not again! The princess raised the dagger high, waiting for the dog to reach the point where its head would be in perfect line with the sharp blade. No sooner had she steadied her arm – a fraction of a second away from delivering the fatal strike – the dog caught the glint of the silver blade and skidded to a record breaking halt, its eyes widening as it stared at the dagger with confusion and … was that fear?

Serenity staggered to a small halt herself; her focus no longer on saving her skin from a dog that, surprisingly as she saw in its eyes – had never had any intention of harming her. The girl had had enough years on studying emotions from any creature she had come across; be it human or animal. This dog may have looked large and dangerous, but she could see from the look in its eyes that it couldn't have hurt a fly. She still didn't make a move to lower her dagger; her experience with Tucker had left her incapable of bringing down her guard, but her prior intentions to slice this creature to shreds were no longer top priority.

The drooling canine was now sitting back on it's haunches; head cocked off to side and slobbery tongue lolled out lazily to the side from it's mouth before giving what looked like a half shrug and plodded off up the stairs to the deck. Serenity could have smirked at the rather humorous looking sight but instead she just sighed and sheathed her dagger back into the strap on her leg and absentmindedly lifted her hand up higher her leg, pulling up her black skirt slightly to brush across the large, bumpy, ugly looking scar on the back of her thigh that had been the result of Tucker's attack on her and an unexpected shiver ran through her.

 _They didn't play fair did they?_

The princess shook herself thoroughly and pulled her black skirt securely back over her legs, hiding the hideous bite mark that had taken weeks to scar over. She counted her lucky stars that she didn't have a limp. In all honesty, Serenity had gotten used to the abuse she had been given in the past. It had more or less become second nature to her since she left Syracuse. The way Sinbad - and whom she assumed was his first mate - had treated her had been the nicest sort of treatment she'd received from anyone since she began her life on the ocean. Her life of freedom and seeing the world ...

It made her gut turn over to think about it. She knew now that she'd been very stupid. Her dreams of seeing the world had gotten the better of her, so much so that she was willing to do just about anything to get there ... she paid the ultimate price for her world journey. And despite getting the chance to see all the different places and sail the seas with - admittedly not too nice captains or crews - she'd have taken it all back in a heartbeat if she'd known what it would cost her.

Oddly enough her thoughts were strangely making her eyelids rather heavy, when was the last time she had even slept, let alone properly and, whether she wanted to admit it or not, the wooden pole she was leaning against was strangely comfortable...

The next thing she knew Serenity was dragged out of her unexpected slumber rather abruptly when the ship lurched to a sudden stop, taking her with it and sent her sprawling across the wooden floor as the temperature in the cabin dropped like a rock. The temperature had originally been relatively warm with the glow of the lanterns and the atmosphere slightly stuffy due to the odor of rum, sweat and musk in the air. Now it was suddenly unbelievably cold with the large burst of icy wind that shot through the cabin, taking out the lanterns and covering the entrance way in ... snow?

Rising from the floor, she quickly threw her long black hair into a loose braid before wrapping her cloak tightly around her arms - carefully minding her wrists - and proceeded to walk back up to the deck, where the cold wind was much stronger and she could see the mist of her breath whenever she exhaled.

Just as she got to the entrance, Sinbad stalked past her, giving her a mild glare as he passed. "You're going to want something more warmer than what you're wearing, princess."

"Quit calling me that." Serenity sneered, before quickening her pace and entered the top deck ignoring the churn in her gut at that word.

The scene that met the princess's eyes was both shocking and oddly beautiful. The ship was layered in snow and stuck fast in the now frozen solid ocean, surrounded by what had to be the ruins that she'd briefly drew her eyes over when that god-awful sack had been removed from her head. All of it covered heavily in snow. This was making the princess wonder just how long she had been asleep for. It hadn't been for that long had it?

Sinbad had possibly been correct. She may need warmer clothing for this weather. Her cloak wasn't doing very much in terms of warmth in the new icy climax. But her stubbornness kept her jaw clenched as she fruitlessly attempted to wrap her cloak tighter around her as she made her way to the side. Watching as the crew made their way down to the ice wrapped up in hats and scarves but still kept arms bare. Serenity huffed. _Men_.

Before Serenity could even think about what on earth had caused the abrupt change in the weather, she felt someone tap her shoulder lightly. Whirling around out of habit, she attempted a roundhouse kick at whoever it was behind her ... and staggered to a halt as the short-haired brunette stepped back quickly, avoiding the incoming foot. Serenity had to fight down a gasp.

Marina.

Her brother's lady was two summers older than Serenity, as was Proteus. He was three moons older than Marina.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." She said quietly. "Only wondered if you wanted these." She held out a purple winter coat and sheepskin boots.

Serenity looked at the clothing, fighting the new urge to grab them and then looked back at Marina. Her breathing hitched a little and she prayed Marina hadn't noticed. Sinbad was one surprise but she didn't think Marina would be on this voyage as well. That was a new shock altogether, and a new pain in her stomach. It never really left nowadays.

Doing what she did best, Serenity pushed it down and ignored it as she took the garments, mumbling out an emotionless thanks and refusing to look the other female in the eye as she put the clothes on, making sure to drape her cloak back over herself afterwards. Her cloak was the only thing from Syracuse that she still owned and be damned if she should lose or someone should try and rid her of it ... it was the only thing she had that connected with Syracuse; her old life, her home ...

Her brother ...

Despite that, she was still unable to stop herself from snuggling into the slightly irresistible warmth of the coat and the softness of the sheepskin boots which made her toes curl into them contentedly without her permission. Serenity sighed silently and looked away and turned back to the side after that, hoping that Marina would leave her alone.

"So, you're Proteus' sister?"

Guess not.

The younger girl gave a quick nod of her head and curled tighter into herself, praying that Marina would take the hint and walk away. Serenity knew what Marina would ask her, and she already knew it wasn't a conversation she would be able to stomach.

A rustle beside her and another pair of arms coming to rest on the railing gave her the rough answer to her prayers. Serenity scowled, first to the gods and then to herself. She should have known better than to think they would help.

Marina spoke up "I admit it was a surprise to find out he had a younger sister ... or even a sibling at all. Proteus hasn't actually mentioned you before."

Inhaling deeply to stop her stomach doing loop-de-loops, Serenity shrugged and focused her hand as she ran her index finger through the snow on the railing. "We were never close." she said bluntly. Brushing aside the fact that her mind was screaming at her to take her statement back.

It was easily one of the biggest lies she had ever told in her life.

Marina sounded thoughtful "Still, I would have thought at least someone on Syracuse would have mentioned you. Are you a half sister? Step sister maybe?"

"No, I'm full blooded." Serenity answered as blankly as what she could. It would have been a lot more believable if she had lied about that one and said that, yes indeed, she was his half sister. It would at least have made more sense as to why she had never been mentioned. But she couldn't bring herself to lie about everything. Not that one at least. She was Proteus' sister, regardless of all that had happened.

Reluctantly accepting that Marina wasn't going to leave her alone anytime soon, Serenity went for a change in subject "So why are you on this voyage?"

Marina laughed a little "I came to make sure Sinbad actually went to retrieve the Book of Peace."

Serenity didn't like the sound of that statement. She turned towards Marina "What do you mean 'Make sure he actually went'?"

"Sinbad wasn't originally going to go and get it. His intentions lay fully on a hammock in Fiji. Not sure why, it's monsoon season over there right now. Anyway, he was under the impression that your father wouldn't allow the council to execute Proteus, which ... knowing King Dymas, he might have tried to let Proteus escape. But I know Proteus. He wouldn't have gone. He's too loyal for that." Marina paused, clearly off in thought about the prince of Syracuse. Serenity found herself holding back a growl. She knew very well how loyal her brother was, and how heartbroken he had been when Sinbad had left without saying goodbye. How could Sinbad have not thought about that. As much as the princess severely disliked the fact that Marina was still here talking to her, she was grateful that Marina had been here to change Sinbad's mind.

"How did you persuade him to head for Tartarus?" She asked, to keep Marina away from asking her more about her relationship with her brother if nothing else.

"By speaking any captains language" Marina smirked and pulled out a diamond from her coat pocket. Serenity half smirked herself. Yup, that'd do the trick.

A variety of grumbles interrupted the girls from their talk which Serenity was only a little more than happy about. She was still surprised at how abrupt the weather change had been. It was sunny skies for miles when she was tossed onto Sinbad's ship and she could not have been asleep for that long. The crew out on the frozen surface were shivering away with miner picks and other kinds of tools and weapons that were useful for breaking surprisingly very solid ice. Not that Serenity really felt much sympathy for some of them. Half of them didn't have sufficient clothing to keep themselves warm. One of them in-particular was a small, skinny little frame with barely any meat on the bones. Chipping the ice with a mining pick - surprisingly faster and with more success than the others - he was grumbling slightly more louder than the other men so words could actually be made out.

"Steal the book of peace" It had to be mocking. Serenity knew that tone well. She had used that tone countless a number of times before in the past - never to anyone's face mind you - but definitely to herself. The figure shivered so hard you could hear his teeth chattering "We will retire to tropics."

There was something odd about that voice. Like Serenity had heard it before. She leaned over the side to try and get a better look at him. He turned around.

Crikey, it was one shock after another on this ship. The girl didn't know how much more of it she could take.

 _No way ... Rat?_

* * *

 **A/N: I do have a good chunk of the next chapter written already so hopefully it won't take a year to get out. :)**


End file.
